Thanks for the post. These watches have a very good reputation and the company supposedly has great customer service. They allow you to return the watch up to 60 days after receipt at no cost, so I have ordered one and if it's no good will return. Incidentally, Topcashback give 5.05% on these.

Thanks for the post. These watches have a very good reputation and the company supposedly has great customer service. They allow you to return the watch up to 60 days after receipt at no cost, so I have ordered one and if it's no good will return. Incidentally, Topcashback give 5.05% on these.

Well I can only advise on the customer service I've received which has been pretty top notch. These watches are beautifully presented with a signed letter from Chris himself. I had a small issue with a C4 that I bought last year, I sent it to them and they reparied and sent back the watch within 48 hours, can't complain at that!

I know that people don't recognise the brand name but please don't vote cold just because you don't know the name.

To back up earlier comments, these are 'proper watches' - of the same quality (in my opinion) and using the the same Swiss movements of watches in the £700-£1300 bracket i.e. your Tags. More exclusive too, as you would be a member of a smaller club, the club often consisting of those 'in the know'. I have purchased 4 of these watches over the years and i'd say that Christopher Ward is my best fashion label find.

These are absolutely not the tat you find advertised in your tabloid newspapers :o)

On the negative side, I do not like the look of majority of the watches in the sale. I hate the RAF/WWII themes!! But I would highly recommend picking up a CW watch even out of sale (fairly freqently they will email you a 20% discount code).

The official sale starts on the 4th January, but some have received an email previewing the sale items in advance.

@Anomander - don't talk out of your backside, Google the ETA 251.272 movement and you will find that the inner workings of these watches cost USD$89 all of which are used in replica watches which everybody knows are rubbish...Ergo these watches are probably also rubbish.

ETA who make the movement you are slagging off is owned by Swatch group. All Omega movements are based on ETA as are a hell of a lot of other high end stuff. The rep makers cant get ETA anymore as supply is being restricted and certainly they cant afford $90 a pop to make a $100 rolex copy. Don't diss what you clearly don't understand.

Actually it is you who is talking out of their ****. Fake watches sometimes use ETA works - they are actually expensive and good. Rubbish fakes (yes there is a difference) us cheap chinese works. Top brands like Omega and Breitling use ETA works and whilst ETA do different qualities all are good - none are rubbish.

Bigfootpete

@Anomander - don't talk out of your backside, Google the ETA 251.272 movement and you will find that the inner workings of these watches cost USD$89 all of which are used in replica watches which everybody knows are rubbish...Ergo these watches are probably also rubbish.

What are you talking about? The ETA movement I quoted above is what the CW watches use - that is what I looked up to get the $89 price. Also in my search of that movement it came up with other replica watches with the same movement - so I stated facts!

The ETA movement used in Rolex etc are much better than that particular one!

@Paddy72 do you think that ETA only produce Rolex quality movements???

@Anomander - don't talk out of your backside, Google the ETA 251.272 movement and you will find that the inner workings of these watches cost USD$89 all of which are used in replica watches which everybody knows are rubbish...Ergo these watches are probably also rubbish.

Bigfootpete, I am not sure if you are talking as a Fossil or Calvin Klein owner :)

Anyway, the automatic watches on the site generally use ETA 2824-2 (or Selita SW200-1) - see the on sale C5 Malvern Automatics or C40 listed as an example. These are the same movements as Tag et al, and it would probably be easier to list prestige brands that do not use these movements rather than the long list of those that do. Selita is technically the same movement as as the ETA (same machine used etc); Swatch are manufacturing less ETA movements currently and so many manufacturers are turning to Selita instead..

The ETA 251.272 from memory is used in a couple of CW watches from memory for automatic chronographs.

ETA is a respectable movement - no question - and in my opinion these watches are well worth their RRP prices alone.

The brand has also been mentioned in the Times and other publications of late.

The movement will always cost a fraction of the total price of the watch, for example the ETA movement in a Tissot PRC 200 costs about £40 but the watch retails, at minimum, about £220. These are good quality watches and the premium over other watch brands is less, if you like the design I don't see a problem.

I suppose it depends if you are looking at quartz or automatic watches.

A good example is that automatic watches on the site generally use ETA 2824-2 (or Selita SW200-1) - see the on sale C5 Malvern Automatics or C40 listed as an example. These are the same movements as Tag et al and I can list various watches at the £1000 bracket using this exact same movement. It would probably be easier to list prestige brands that do not use these movements rather than the long list of those that do. Selita is technically the same movement as as the ETA (same machine used etc); Swatch are manufacturing less ETA movements currently and so many manufacturers are turning to Selita instead..

Quartz movements are cheaper of course, but comparatively quartz or autromatic this brand is well worth their RRP prices and then some in my opinion

If another lesser manufacturer manages to fit in one of these movements in to their badly built case and dial then so be it, this does not make the movement any lesser.

And please note as someone earlier mentioned, there is a quality and respectable replica market out there, in addition to the cheap fakes (similar to legitimate replica paintings that cost £1000 rather than £50,000 - they are still good quality).

Did you even read what I said - replica watch sites often lie about the works they use - they quote ETA but use something else. Replica watches with ETA works are usually quite reliable - not all fakes are rubbish.It is you who said "Ergo these watches are probably also rubbish" - as the likes of Omega, breitling etc use ETA works you are not stating fact - just a badly informed opinion. The FACT is these watches are very good - do you have some critical reviews you would like to quote? - Nope, thought not.

Bigfootpete

What are you talking about? The ETA movement I quoted above is what the CW watches use - that is what I looked up to get the $89 price. Also in my search of that movement it came up with other replica watches with the same movement - so I stated facts!

The ETA movement used in Rolex etc are much better than that particular one!

@Paddy72 do you think that ETA only produce Rolex quality movements???

Can't seem to find a single review indicating they are rubbish - fact. Yes the quality ETA works in the cheapest watches costs $89 BUT search for the ETA referred to (ETA 251.272 ) using a UK only search and you find watches like these:

Well - on further investigation I see that that movement is from the 1950's - but it is supposed to be quite reliable.
Although who knows what variation CW use.
From Wikipedia:
the Standard grade is adjusted in two positions with an average rate of +/-12 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day;
the Elaborated grade is adjusted in three positions with an average rate of +/-7 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-30 seconds/day;
while the Top grade is adjusted in five positions with an average rate of +/-4 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-10 seconds/day.

It is used in some of the entry level Tag watches and some other big names sold at huge prices.

I found this little excerpt from a site about Omega watches which probably makes the difference between a proper big name company and unknown ones:
"Each watch manufacturer varies in how much they modify, retest, or certify the movement before putting them into their watches. OMEGA makes a number of their own modifications to these already high quality movements and then has the automatic ones C.O.S.C. certified before incorporating them into OMEGA watches."

There is no way of knowing what CW or Tag do to the movement after purchasing in bulk, to conclusively say that CW are better or worse than a entry level Tag, just my opinion from initial investigation.

Good point Pete. I remember reading about these, and that some (Breitling) didn't really change anything inhouse (just stamped their names!) whereas IWC did a little more, so there are some differences.

I know that Christopher Ward guarantees a *maximum* of +20 seconds/ -10 seconds per day, for one of the £200 automatic watches that I have, which appears to fall somewhere between the elaborated and top grade maximum daily tolerences, but hereon it gets complicated and is outside of my limited knowledge!

Just found this shoull anybody be interested (or need to fall asleep...)